Former Spanish champion Oier Lazkano has been provisionally suspended by the UCI and his Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe team has distanced itself from him, saying he would no longer race in its colours. But he is insisting he is innocent.
The UCI, cycling’s world governing body, said this week Lazkano had been “provisionally suspended in accordance with the UCI anti-doping rules, due to unexplained abnormalities in his athlete biological passport in 2022, 2023 and 2024.”
Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe then issued a statement saying “Oier Lazkano will no longer be part of our team" following the decision of the UCI to provisionally suspend him.
He was signed last winter as a Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe rider on a three-year contract from Movistar. But after racing for the first weeks of this season he has not competed since Paris-Roubaix in April.
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He has now issued a statement to Spanish newspaper AS, which reports the 25-year-old has strongly denied any wrongdoing.
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"I have never used doping substances or prohibited methods. I am a clean athlete and a person of integrity," he said.
"I will continue, with determination and transparency, to defend my name and professional dignity. My career has been built on effort, dedication, honesty, and daily work."
He now had to trust "in the truth and in sporting justice". He added he would use "all necessary actions" to defend himself and clear his name.
The years of his career now under examination all relate to his time as a Movistar rider. While with that team he won a stage at Tour de Wallonie (2.Pro), won a stage and the overall at Boucles de la Mayenne (2.Pro).
He was also 2nd at Dwars door Vlaanderen (1.UWT), won the Spanish road race title, claimed a stage at Vuelta a Burgos (2.Pro) and won Clásica Jaén (1.1).
Last year he placed 9th at Critérium du Dauphiné (2.UWT), climbing with many of the best riders in the world, and went on to prove one of the most aggressive riders at the Tour de France and La Vuelta, though did not convert that into a stage win.
